


Awakening

by Kurakynr



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Friendship, Gen, Glenn Fraldarius Lives, Glenn Fraldarius is Robin, Robin is Glenn Fraldarius, Robin!Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23158825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kurakynr/pseuds/Kurakynr
Summary: Robin’s first memory is of waking up in a field with a blue haired boy and a blonde haired girl bickering above him.His second is said boy and girl adopting(kidnapping) him into their merry band of brigand busters.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 40





	1. His First Memory

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Tactician of the Azure Moon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22143604) by [UnknownHorizom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnknownHorizom/pseuds/UnknownHorizom). 



> Canonically Glenn’s body was never found, just his sword and armor. And white hair does seem to be a pretty common side effect of crest experimentation. And getting turned into the Vessel of the Fell Dragon Grima is close enough, right?
> 
> And Robin’s a canon amnesiac.
> 
> AKA: Robin is Glenn Fraldarius, or at least he used to be.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _1176, Pegasus Moon_

He is laying in a field of tall green grass and staring up at a clear blue sky. The clear expanse of open space fills him with a sense of childish glee. A boy and girl in armor stand over him bickering. His head is pounding and it takes him a moment to make sense of what the two are saying. Are they arguing over him?

It doesn’t take long for them to notice he’s awake. The girl squeals and the boy offers him a hand up. He takes it and the boy pulls him to his feet. When he extends his right hand, he sees a vibrant purple brand on the back of it. He didn’t know he had a tattoo. 

Introductions are made. The blue haired boy with the air of leadership and a sword is Chrom. The blonde girl with a cheerful spring in her step and a healer’s staff is Lissa. The armored giant with the unusually high quality lance and a war horse is Frederick. 

They call themselves shepherds, but he’s pretty sure the three are some sort of nobility. Their clothes and weapons are too fine for anything else and Frederick is most certainly the sibling’s guardian knight. There is a cough prompting him to abandon his assessments of his new acquaintances and introduce himself.

_His name is…_

_His name is…_

He blinks and shakes his head. He can’t give them an answer. He doesn’t _remember_ it. He can’t remember much of anything now that he thinks about it. He doesn’t know who he is or where he came from. His oldest memory is opening his eyes to Chrom and Lissa squabbling above him as he stared up at the sky not even five minutes ago. He’s an utterly blank slate. 

_Fuck._

Lissa is quick to put a name to his condition: Amnesia, _a partial or total loss of memory_. He nods and accepts the healer’s(?) diagnosis. That seems like an apt description of his present situation—with an emphasis on _total loss._

The knight Frederick doesn’t buy it. He’s understandably suspicious of him and voices his belief that he’s faking his condition. He can’t find it in himself to be offended by the knight’s doubt. He doesn’t think he’d believe himself if their positions were reversed.

But Chrom and Lissa seem to trust him for some bizarre reason so Frederick is overruled. Still, Chrom _insists_ he accompany them to Southtown. They might be inclined to believe the best of random strangers they meet laying passed out on the side of the road, but they aren’t going to leave the suspicious amnesiac to wander the Ylisse countryside on his own. 

He understands he’s suspicious and he was planning on asking if he could accompany the group to the next town, but his fists still clench when Chrom decides for him. The imposition on his freedom rackles. 

But he’s not willing to fight Chrom on the matter—he won’t win. So he lets his shoulders slump as he draws a deep resigned breath of air. His body language radiates resignation and reluctance. Is he to be their prisoner? He asks, voice flat and carefully free of anger and hostility. The answer he gets will be _important_.

Chrom frowns, looking vaguely offended and shakes his head. He’ll be free once he’s proven he’s not a threat to Ylisse. He isn’t a prisoner, just a...coerced traveling companion? Chrom looks sheepish and Lissa chuckles. 

Tensions are high with the neighboring kingdom of Plegia right now, Frederick elaborates. They have been sending in raiding parties into Ylisse under the guise of being lawless brigands. Many villages have already been attacked. In fact, they are heading to Southtown to investigate reports of brigands around the town. The knight narrows his eyes as he looks him up and down, it would be frankly irresponsible to leave a _white haired_ man wearing _Plegian garbs_ unsupervised.

Was white not a common color in Ylisse? He asks. Natural white hair is a rarity even in Plegia, but it’s practically unseen in Ylisse. Then he’s probably Plegian—not that that means anything to him. He decides he can’t fault their caution and falls into step with the siblings.

He looks up and sees a robin flying overhead. An idea takes root in his mind. He opens his mouth and then closes it, considering. After a moment he speaks. He remembers his name, he says.

_Robin._

_His name is Robin._

Robin’s companions probably know he’s lying, but they don’t challenge him and accept the name without protest. He’s grateful for their silence on that matter. Robin is free to shape his new identity as he pleases. A name is something solid he can hold onto and anchor himself around. 

As the group makes their way towards Southtown, Robin asks more about this Ylisse he has found himself in. The name is still strange and unfamiliar on his tongue. Even without his memories Robin can tell he’s a stranger to this land. Chrom and Lissa are a wealth of knowledge on the Halidom of Ylisse, he finds. 

(Another mark towards them being nobility of some kind. The pair are clearly well educated and eager to fill him in about their home. Briefly, Robin wonders about his own station before deciding he doesn’t much care.)

He listens attentively as they speak. About the Exalt, Emmeryn, who rules benevolently over the land. About the towns and people of Ylisse. About the rolling plains and lush forests. About the many summer festivals held each year in honor of the Exalt and Naga. About the roving bands of Plegian brigands the Shepherds defend the people against. The picture Chrom and Lissa paint is beautiful.

It’s most assuredly a biased portrayal of the halidom, but Robin can’t help smiling. Chrom and Lissa love this land and their enthusiasm is infectious. He feels content, maybe even happy walking down this country road with the two and their watchful shadow. His brand bothers him though and he can’t stop fiddling with it. He keeps scratching or rubbing it. The design is gaudy. The vivid purple stands in bold contrast to his pale skin.

Lissa takes off her right glove and offers it to him. She can see the mark is bothering him and it’s not like she needs it. Winter is short in Ylisse. It’s practically spring. March is right around the corner. Then Lissa frowns realizing something, the glove might be a little small. Frederick glowers and Chrom points out it’s only too small ‘if we keep the fingers.’

So Robin finds himself wearing a fairly dainty fingerless glove on his right hand. He’s rather pleased with it and he joins the siblings in ganging up to tease Frederick. Frederick grumbles over Lissa giving her glove to the ‘coerced traveling companion.’ It’s fun and Robin finds he quite likes pushing other people’s buttons. He waves his gloved hand around and banters with Lissa and Chrom.

The jokes abruptly stop when they spot the black smoke rising in the distance. _Southtown_ is in that direction. Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick break into a run and Robin follows. The green surroundings blur around them as they race down the road. Robin doesn’t know how long it takes them to reach the town, but when they do Robin’s eyes widen in horror. 

Southtown is _burning_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Robin named himself after a random bird. Not the best origin of a name, but I think it works. He needed name for several practical reasons and give he’s got some underlaying issues in regards to freedom, picking something that can fly was appealing. He values his freedom _alot_ (I wonder what traumatic experience engrained that into his personality?). He’s going to be a free spirit who’s a lot less concerned with how he’s perceived by other people then Glenn was. 
> 
> I’m replaying Awakening right now for this fic. It’s been years and already I’ve noticed a lot of things I’ve forgotten. Both plot wise and lore wise. But I’m taking notes finding lots of material that may see later use.


	2. His Second Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _1176, Pegasus Moon_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awakening was originally intended to be single chapter fic, but when writing the story it seemed more appropriate to cut it into two parts.

Southtown is _burning_.

The entire town is ablaze. Parts of the town are almost entirely obscured by thick black smoke and wind carries burning embers through the air. Screams and cries echo in his ears and Robin can see the townsfolk fleeing—a few even run past him.

The brigands have to have mages, Frederick says. No natural fire spreads with this kind of speed and ferocity. The Shepherds will have to take out the mages if they want to save this town. Otherwise the mages will just restart any fires they manage to put out and make any attempts at rescuing trapped civilians nearly impossible. Lissa tightens her grip around her staff and expression shifts from panic desperation to grim determination. Chrom draws his blade and nods in acknowledgment. 

When they reach the entrance to the town Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick rush forward into the blazing inferno without hesitation. However, Robin falters at the outskirts. The ash in the air makes his eyes water and his lungs choke on the smoke. Robin can’t help but recoil when the heat hits him like a wave. He doesn’t want to go into this fiery hellscape.

Then a boy only a few years Robin’s senior comes running from the town. He’s covered with soot, can’t be more than twenty two, and is dragging a child behind him. Both boy and child are wearing scorched clothes. As they approach Robin can see their faces. They’re terrified. Absolutely terrified. 

And then he hears another set of running footsteps and looks back to the burning town. Two brigands armed with axes are running across the bridge after the pair. If the brigands catch the boy and child they will probably kill them. Neither appear to be carrying anything of value so the only reason the brigands would have to pursue them is sadistic pleasure and enjoyment.

For only a moment, Robin stands frozen staring at the sea of fire and ash. Then, he grits his teeth and makes a choice. _Fuck_ his supposed Plegian roots and _fuck_ this fire because Robin will not stand by and do nothing as innocents are butchered and burnt in front of him. Energy surges around him. Magic flows down his arm and sparks of lightning crackle at his fingertips. A bright yellow magic circle bursts to life in front of Robin’s outstretched hand.

_Thunder._

A blast of brilliant lightning flies through the air and sends the two brigands screaming off the bridge and into the water. Robin isn’t quite sure how exactly he just did that. He didn’t know he was a mage, let alone the complex and intricate spell formulas needed to cast magic tomeless, but he’s angry and the magic rushes to obey him, eager to smite his foes. Robin can figure out the _hows_ later.

He checks himself for weapons. He’s got a thunder tome secured to his left thigh and a bronze sword sheathed at his waist. So he’s armed at least. Robin clutches the Thunder to his chest with his left hand and grips his sword in his right. He’s about to find out if he can use a blade.

Taking a deep breath, Robin runs after his companions. He races through burning streets and blasts any brigand who crosses his path with _Thunder_ until he finds them at the edge of the town square. Chrom and Lissa are taking shelter behind the wreckage of a market stall as an enemy mage tries to blast them with fire magic.

Robin dashes to join them, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a fireball in the process. Chrom and Lissa are surprised by his presence, but Robin just grins. Robin wants to help defend this town if Chrom will have him. He’s armed and he seems to know his way around a fight. For emphasis, Robin holds up his hands, a sword in one and a tome in the other. 

Chrom beams at him and says that anyone willing to lend their strength to the defense of the innocent is a friend. Robin smirks and says in that case he saw where the mage was hiding when he got here and if Chrom and Lissa are willing to trust him, he has an idea of how to get rid of them. 

Under his direction Chrom darts to another destroyed cart. As predicted, the enemy mage tries to blast him, leaning out of their hiding place to increase their accuracy. Robin bets they’re still adjusting to having depth perception issues. Their eyepatch is new. It doesn’t matter because when the mage moves to strike Chrom, Robin is ready to blast them with a _Thunder_.

Frederick makes a dramatic reappearance taking out a brigand who tried to sneak up behind Lissa. The rest of the battle passed quickly after that. The four units find a steady rhythm working as a team. Chrom led the forward charge cutting down their foes with his blade. Robin took charge of their tactics and provided cover fire with his _Thunder_. Lissa healed and baited brigands into ambushes. Frederick and his horses acted as mobile support making sure no one got overwhelmed.

Robin finds that while he does not enjoy the battlefield, he is at home on it. His skills with a blade are shaky. He’s relying more on instinct and muscle memory than any knowledge of swordplay, but it’s more than enough to deal with some lowly brigands. His magic thrums through the air and wrecks havoc on the enemy. Tactics and strategies and combat assessments come to Robin like breathing. At some point Robin received extensive training in combat and battlefield tactics.

They have the brigand’s leader, Garrick at sword point in under an hour. All the brigands have either fled or perished and Robin and his friends barely have a scratch on them.The brigands are dealt with and relief and rescue efforts can finally begin.

Once again Chrom extends a hand to him, this time with an offer to join them. To become a Shepherd. They need a tactician and Robin has proven himself an outstandingly capable one. It doesn’t matter where Robin came from or who he used to be, Robin fought to protect and save Ylisseans lives today. 

He’s one of them now.

Robin takes Chrom’s hand for the second time. He thinks he just got adopted. Or kidnapped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....I spent a lot of time thinking about the magic system of 3H and A in order to reconcile them and make them work as one thing today so I’m going to share it in an exposition dump. 
> 
> So in order to cast a spell tomeless you need to have a deep and complete understanding of the complicated and intricate formulas and equations that make up each spell. And it’s different for each spell. 
> 
> A tome contains all of that information. So while you still do need to have a general understanding of how the spell operates and functions, the tome will do the complex magic circle calculations for you. You don’t have to memorize and have a complete understanding of the _entire_ spell. 
> 
> In Fodlan mages tend to only know a handful of spells each because they’ve had to dedicate themselves to learning each one to the point they can cast tomeless. It can take months to get a spell down and the stronger the spell the more complex and complicated it is to learn. They also generally have fewer ‘uses’ than tomeusers because tomes can also serve as magically batteries (which is why once the magical reserve in a tome is used up the the tome will break). However, Fodlan magic users can cast tomeless. They can’t be disarmed and you have to literally gag them to make sure they can’t cast...which doesn’t always work. Some Fodlan mages are good enough to cast wordless, though they generally save that for emergencies since it’s not easy. Fodlan mages can use tomes if they wanted, they just aren’t common items in Fodlan. 
> 
> Archanea mages generally use tomes and might know maybe one or two spells well enough to do them tomeless, but very few do. Miriel is the only shepherd other then Robin who can and she only has 1-2. It’s generally considered better to spend time studying a tome well enough to cast it and then moving on to the next one. Because of this Archanea mages are a lot more versatile. A mage might be capable of casting several dozen spells. Of course, a mage can generally only cast maybe 5 different spells at any one time depending on what tomes they have on them. 
> 
> Robin’s in a bit of a weird place in this regard. He will be using tomes, but he can cast tomeless because magic literally _shapes itself to his destructive whims_. It’s not the most reliable method. Without putting in the work to actually understand what exactly he’s doing then he’s basically just asking the forces of magic to _wreck shit._ If he tried to pull what he does in Entertaining Children right now in 1176 then he’d probably destroy the library and hurt the kids by accident.


End file.
